Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown

San Francisco’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival wraps up Sunday, April 19, with a free Grand Parade and a second day of performances across Japantown. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) The 59th annual festival ran over two weekends, April 11-12 and April 18-19, in San Francisco’s Japantown. Organizers say the event is held rain or shine. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) Festival grounds in Japantown are open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all four days, and the Grand Parade is scheduled for Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The parade starts at Civic Center Plaza, goes up Polk Street to Post Street, and ends at Post and Fillmore streets in Japantown. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) The festival spreads across indoor and outdoor venues, including the Peace Plaza stage, The Center at 1840 Sutter St., Post Street vendor areas, and Webster Street food booths. The official map says general festival admission is free, with separate tickets only for a few special events such as Queen Program Night and the Cherry Blossom Film Festival. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) This year’s program includes cultural demonstrations such as ikebana flower arranging, shodo calligraphy, tea gatherings, martial arts, music, and dance. The festival website says hundreds of artists from the Bay Area and across the Pacific take part each year. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) The event is one of the biggest annual gatherings in Japantown, and organizers say it has been running since 1968. The festival website says more than 220,000 people attend each year. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org) This year’s co-chairs said the festival is operating while Peace Plaza renovations continue, and they expanded activity on Sutter Street after using that space last year. They also added a Kanda Mikoshi, a portable shrine gifted from Tokyo’s Kanda Myojin Shrine, to this year’s programming. (sfcherryblossom.org) The Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco said Mayor Daniel Lurie, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Consul General Kotaro Otsuki, and festival leaders joined the opening ceremony on April 11. The consulate said the festival celebrates Japanese culture and the Japan-California relationship. (sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp) Visitors are being urged to take transit or rideshare because parking is limited and Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore and Webster Street between Geary and Sutter are closed to vehicle traffic during the festival. The festival’s transit guide points BART riders to Montgomery Street Station and the 38-Geary bus as the most direct route. (sfcherryblossom.org) For Sunday, the main choice is simple: arrive early for the 11 a.m. opening, stay for the food bazaar and stage shows, and line up for the 1 p.m. parade before the festival closes at 6 p.m. in Japantown. (sfcherryblossom.org, sfcherryblossom.org)